Bloom County Trivia Quiz

Answer: A newspaper

Milo was often shown working for the 'Bloom Picayune' (sometimes the 'Bloom Beacon'), bringing libel to new levels. Opus also worked for the paper, variously as the comics editor, the lifestyles editor, the personnels editor, a cartoonist, the ombudsman, and a photographer.

Answer: The Snorklewhaker

The Giant Purple Snorklewhaker would torment Binkley with ever fearsome nightmare he could imagine. On more than one occasion, President Reagan's anxieties were accidentally routed to Binkley's closet, causing Yuri Andropov and Fidel Castro to show up.

Answer: The Meadow Party

Perhaps because his running mate was a dead cat, Opus never had much success as a politician. His approval ratings were lower than Spuds Mackenzie's--and only slightly higher than Walter Mondale's. The only lobbyist who contributed to their campaign was 'John Smith' of the cocaine industry.

Answer: The Tomato Squisher/Turnip Twaddler

Oliver once invented a baldness cure which, due to its side effects, was ruled a controlled substance. This caused its price to skyrocket and resulted in a national crime wave. I was too young at the time to realize this was a commentary on the drug wars.

Oliver once used his chemistry set to breed a long-tailed hamster. We were never shown the results, though the tail was over ten feet long.

In what was probably the longest, most bizarre story arc, Oliver learns about the Apartheid system in South Africa. Horrified, he invents a device that will temporarily turn white people black. He dispatches Cutter John and Opus to Washington D.C. to zap the white South African ambassador. Unfortunately, their balloon-powered wheelchair crashes into the Atlantic and they are captured by a Russian submarine. Meanwhile, Bill the Cat has started dating Jean Kirkpatrick and...oh, it would go on for pages.

Answer: Managing a heavy metal band

Steve, along with Opus, Bill, and Hodge-Podge, formed the death-metal band 'Deathtongue'. They later changed their name to 'Billy and the Boingers.' Their only concert was in Albuquerque, and ended with the band trashing their motel room.

Answer: Donald Trump

The Donald was crushed by his boat's anchor and doctors transplanted his brain into Bill's body. Donald was forced to try to start a new life in Bloom County as a disgusting cat. "Legally, I can poop in Ed Koch's flower bed."

Answer: He was actually a female

When Spuds Mackenzie wandered into town, he let slip that he was actually female, and that another Bloom County regular was also a woman. She then blacked out, leaving the cast to accuse each other (cartoon characters are not anatomically correct). Opus later discovers that Rosebud is the phantom female.

Answer: He used a wheelchair

Cutter John lost the use of his legs in Vietnam, though never his sense of humor. Opus felt an instant affinity for Cutter, having wings as useless as Cutter's legs.

Strip creator Berkeley Breathed related how a woman in a wheelchair asked why Cutter John was in so few strips. He replied that it was difficult to format a strip around a character who was always sitting down. The woman replied "Now imagine going through life like that."

Answer: Steve

The cast went on strike for several weeks, demanding a larger format for greater readability. Steve was the first to cave, returning to work and getting pelted in the face with an egg thrown by Opus. The strip's management hired scab actors, with a female stripper playing Bill and an obnoxious rapper playing Oliver. Eventually the strikers caved and returned to work.

Answer: Steve

Steve was captured by aliens who planned to transplant Elvis's brain into his head. Steve threatened to sue (even if he had to do it with the King's brain), so the aliens flip-flopped his personality instead. Steve abandoned his trademark sunglasses, got a perm, and became a radical, vegan, feminist. Only when his new girlfriend betrayed him did he revert to his classic, chain-smoking, obnoxious ways.